Gone In Thin Air
by ShinningLikeAChandelier
Summary: What starts as a casual lunch trip turns into a hostage situation in which Calleigh and Ryan are taken in the process of a deal made with the team. Will the team be able to find them? Will Calleigh and Ryan survive long enough to be found? EC moments to come later.
1. Chapter 1

**So, "Crossfire" is going really well and I figured that for that reason I could probably handle making another story! As you should already know, my stories are all EC but this one I am hoping to make more action based maybe? Not so sure yet. But for all the Hiphuggers fans out there, there will be some EC at some point in this story.**

Calleigh and Ryan were off to lunch at the same bistro they usually hit up over the past two years. The team had finally closed their case as of 11:32 am and they were exhausted. Calleigh offered to go pick up lunch for the team and Ryan go tied into going because Calleigh "couldn't carry it all by myself". The two finally arrived and parked on the street a few stores down.

"Oh you know what, can we run into the bank real quick?" Calleigh asked Ryan who was busy picking at a fuzzy on his shirt. He looked up and shot her a confused face.

"I don't have cash! Natalia is putting it all on her card and everyone is giving her cash. I, Mr. Wolfe, do not have any cash!" She explained with an unchartable amount of sass in her voice. Ryan rolled his eyes. Guess he deserved it.

"Why yes your highness, we can go to the bank" He said with a mock medieval accent and gestured towards the bank with his hand. The two laughed at the childish banter and walked towards the bank's entrance. There was a considerable line when they got in but it wasn't bad. They were honestly thankful to be inside the air conditioned building. It was a humid, 97 degree day in Miami and any type of heat relief was appreciated. They were finally close to being next when Ryan watched the face of the bank teller change from content to purely horrified in a matter of seconds, as if in slow two of them began to turn around to see what was causing the displeasure on the bank tellers face but couldn't even get a glance before echoing gunfire was heard. Almost simultaneously everyone in the entire bank hit the ground in fear. Ryan threw an arm of Calleigh's shoulders the second the first gunshot was heard and brought her down to the ground with him in protection.

"NOBODY MOVES" A voice boomed as the doors were heard being slammed shut and what sounded like chains moving against metal. They were taking everyone hostage. Calleigh laid on the floor with her cheek against the cool marble of the floor facing Ryan who was in the same position. Ryan still had an arm over Calleigh's shoulders which left his phone that was clipped to his belt fully exposed. Ryan looked at Calleigh with a serious face. "They can't know we're cops" he mouthed. Calleigh nodded in understanding. She reached out the short distance and detached Ryan's phone from his hip as slowly and carefully as she could. Ryan closed his eyes, praying that the unknown amount of men in the building wouldn't see. Calleigh carefully pulled the cell phone close to her chest and held down the home button until the screen read "Sending Out Emergency Message". Calleigh sighed a deep breath silently as she reached out and reattached the phone to Ryan's hip.

"EVERYONE UP WITH YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEADS" A second man yelled. Calleigh looked to Ryan as the two stood up along with the 12 other people in the bank. They could finally see what they were dealing with. 3 mean stood, covered in padding and all had black masks. The door to the entrance had indeed been chained shut. Calleigh eye balled the weaponry that they were armed with. Two of the men held pistols, one held a machine gun. Looked military issued. The three of them looked over everyone. Ryan had a bad feeling that something was going to go off and that they would be noticed. One of the men looked at Calleigh, who was eyeballing all of the guns still. He began walking towards Calleigh with a sick smile on his face. Calleigh quickly averted her gaze to the man who was getting closer and closer. Ryan heard faint sirens in the background and hoped that the men wouldn't suspect anything.

"You see something you like?" The man slurred off at Calleigh. She looked down at the floor to avoid confrontation. Ryan felt anger boiling up inside of him as he watched this man grow closer and closer to Calleigh. The sirens were getting louder and louder. One of the men was behind the counter at this point breaking open the drawers and taking out the money while the third was looking out of the massive glass windows and seemed to be growing nervous. He also happened to be the one holding the machine gun.

"I want everyone up against the windows" The heavily armed men yelled. The people in the bank all started walking up to the windows facing the outside. Calleigh began heading towards the window with Ryan next to her. Once they all had a spot facing out towards the street another of the men went behind the counter to help out his teammate so to speak. He turned around quickly and looked at the man who had previously been focused on Calleigh. "Search them for valuables and don't let them move" He barked. The man nodded and went to the first person in line and began pulling items out of their pockets and putting them into his own. Calleigh turned her head and looked to Ryan.

"Our guns" she mouthed to him. Ryan just squinted his eyes while still facing the front, knowing that this could not go over well. The man was three people away from Calleigh. Three people away until all hell broke loose. Ryan opened his eyes to see Hummers and police cars pulling up, Screeching tires and flashing lights were overwhelming. Calleigh opened her eyes to see Horatio and Eric directly in front of the building behind the opened doors of the Hummer with guns drawn. Trip and Natalia were in the same position in another Hummer followed by two cop cars.

"Good thing we got this handy human shield to protect us huh Lenny?" One of the men yelled from behind the counter. "Sure is boss" Lenny replied. Calleigh looked straight out at her teammates, hoping they had some type of plan. Lenny continued down the line.

"Release the hostages and we can talk about our options" One of the officers yelled through a speaker on one of the cars. The three man laughed audibly. Lenny was now one person away from Calleigh. She looked out at the many faces and caught that of Eric's. He saw her too, he was focused on her honestly. Ryan looked over to Calleigh and mouthed "sorry". Calleigh looked over to him and Lenny quickly grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her head back so her ear was right next to his mouth. "I said to face forward" He whispered harshly before slamming her face harshly into the glass of the window.

Eric watched from the outside as she snatched her head back and then roughly slammed her into the window. He tightly gripped onto his gun as he watched the scene unfold. "Steady Eric" Horatio said flatly. Lenny took his wandering hands and tightly gripped her small body in more than one ways, searching for anything he could take for his own. Calleigh felt her heart race. He was inches away from her firearm. He reached down further and felt it. He pulled the gun from her waist quickly as anger spread over his face. Eric felt his heart drop as did all of their teammates on the outside. All they could do was watch at this point.

"Look at what we have here" Lenny began as he started to pull his own firearm up to Calleigh's skull. Ryan instinctively pulled his own firearm out.

"No.." The word fell out of Natalia's mouth instinctively. Ryan had almost had the gun up level with Lenny's face before Calleigh turned and elbowed him in the throat as hard as she could. Lenny dropped his gun and Calleigh's at the same time. Ryan got out one round at Lenny before the "boss" behind the counter lifted his machine gun and opened fire for a quick moment. Parts of the glass shattered while one bullet skimmed Ryan's arm, while another went straight passed Calleigh's face. Close enough to burn her cheek, leaving a bleeding trail down her face. Lenny quickly got up and punched Ryan in the face hard, sending him to the ground before he turned quickly and grabbed Calleigh by the neck and pinning her back against the glass. He looked down and saw her gleaming, golden badge. He snatched it quickly off her waist and held it up.

"Miami Dade" He said with a laugh before tossing it backwards to either of the men behind the counter. "You too huh?" Lenny continued while he kicked Ryan enough for him to roll over in pain revealing his own badge. "Boss" seemed to be agitated at this point. He came back from behind the counter with his gun drawn. He walked up to Lenny and snatched Calleigh from his hands and dragged her himself to the front door where they were in clear view. He ripped the phone off her belt and held it in front of her face.

"Who do I call on here to talk to one of them?" He asked roughly. Calleigh looked at the phone for a moment and looked back to the man. "First contact" she said gently. "Boss" put the phone up to his ear and sandwiched it between his shoulder. Altering Calleigh's position so that she was in front of him. One hand around her throat, another holding a gun to her head.

Eric looked down as his phone buzzed. He looked over to Horatio who told him to pick it up.

"What do you want" Eric answered roughly. "Boss smiled as he realized he was in the perfect position.

"How much would you say blondie here is worth? OR .." he paused for a moment while Lenny dragged Ryan over by his collar. "This one! The both of them are yours right?" "Boss" replied with a sick smile. This was a man who had nothing to lose.

"What do you want?" Eric asked again, fuming at this point.

"Ahh, we do have an understanding don't we?" Boss replied. He let go of his grip on Calleigh's neck and forced her down onto her knees. He placed the gun barrel firmly on the back of her head. "You see, I studied the blueprint of this building. We had a plan. These two, they weren't apart of it! So what I would like, is a deal" Boss began. Eric watched as Calleigh looked worriedly over to Ryan who was now slouched against the wall next to her. He was in bad shape. The blow to the head he took was not good.

"We will give you all of the hostages, so long as we get to leave with your two officers" Boss finished.

"That is not happening" Eric said firmly. Boss shrugged his shoulders while he pulled back Calleigh's head and firmly pushed the gun into her neck.

"Make the deal!" Ryan yelled as well as he could. Boss took the phone and put it near Calleigh's face. "Make the deal Eric" She said through a choked voice. Eric looked at Horatio. Horatio nodded. Eric knew that there had to be some other type of a follow up. Eric looked firmly through the glass door at Boss and picked the phone back up.

"What are the details" Eric said firmly, eyes locked on Ryan and Calleigh. Boss smiled as he turned around and nodded at the man still behind the counter who then picked up his backpack and headed further into the back.

"We leave the hostages here for you to come get, but you may not enter until ten minutes after we leave" Boss began. In the middle of his pause there was an audible explosion of some type heard. "We take your two friends here, and granted that you follow our instructions, they will not be harmed! Ah, the most important part, I'll have a nice FaceTime call set up, so I'll know the second you enter, and if it is a second earlier than what we have agreed on, Princess here will be the first one to get a bullet!" Boss finished. He snatched Calleigh up of the ground easily and handed her off to Lenny. "Dante!" Boss yelled. The third man's name finally learned appeared again and came forward, his back pack missing. Must have been what was holding whatever that explosive. Dante came forward and grabbed Ryan off the ground as well. "Do we have a deal?" Boss asked with a smile. They knew that they couldn't argue.

"We have a deal" Eric said. He had to force the words out of his mouth. He watched as Dante roughly dragged Ryan back far into the bank, followed by Lenny who threw Calleigh over his shoulder and began walking back. Calleigh looked up to Eric with a single tear falling down her face. Her hope was quickly fading. Soon Ryan and Calleigh were completely out of sight. Boss hung up the phone and held his gun out towards the windows while he FaceTimed Calleigh's phone off of his own and placed hers down on the desk to ensure he could see the entire scene. He then walked backwards towards the bank and once out of sight began to run full speed to catch up with his team members.

 **OKAY GUYS! Cutting this chapter off right here because I don't want to give it away! But how are they escaping?! Where are the thieves going to take them? How and WILL they escape…? Questions to potentially be answered in the next chapter! Let me know what you guys are thinking! Review Review Review so I know if I should continue with this one or not!**


	2. Chapter 2

Calleigh watched the scene behind her to try to see as much as she could. She watched as Boss ran towards them and then crouched down and set up a trip wire in the entrance to the old hallways they were currently walking through. They had already use on explosive to blow the wall and expose the hall they were currently walking through. It's was old and covered in tile. The walls were filthy and cracked in multiple places. These guys must've studied these blueprints to even know that these were here. They were professional. She watched as he set a bomb to the wire on the side of the wall completely out of sight. She imagined the team waiting the ten minutes and then running in after and missing the wire, setting off the bomb.

"TRIP WIRE" she screamed with all her might as Boss ran to catch up with them. She watched as his face dropped as quickly as the speed of light into one of anger. From what she could see, which was his mouth, he was furious. At the same time she felt the arm that was around her leg shift, throwing her onto the tile ground. Hard. She landed flat on her back and felt the air get knocked out of her lungs. She gasped for a moment but before she could catch her breath Lenny had yanked her up by her arm and Boss had grabbed her jaw so that she was staring him dead in the face.

"Make another noise, I will put one of these straight through your pretty little head" he hissed through gritted teeth. He held the gun to her as he spoke and all Calleigh could do was look at him.

Ryan tried to turn around to say something but Dante yanked him forward as well. Calleigh blinked a few more times before Boss laughed and raised his gun before he knocked it against the side of her skull, knocking her out. As her limp body fell, Lenny easily scooped her back up and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Ryan trudged along down the hallways until they reached a metal gate with an old fashioned bank vault door. Boss came forward and set the last bomb against it as they all backed up and waited for it. This explosion was louder than the rest and echoed loudly down the hallways sending ash and dust violently around. Ryan squinted his eyes as Dante lead the way down the dark tunnel. Eventually he felt his feet grow wet and the smell of rotted sewage became overwhelming. Dante began to gag. No wonder this was all sealed off, seems as though this old tunnel must of flooded and they couldn't save it. They were surely underground at this point. Finally there was some audible movement that was fairly faint. Ten minutes just have gone by. Ryan noticed Boss checking the phone fairly frequently. He looked again and dropped it into the sludge beneath them.

"Quickly now, we're close" he said in an even tone. He readjusted his bag that Ryan assumed was filled with the stolen money and explosives. He still was having difficulty seeing. A little while further and he watched as Boss ascended up. Guess there was a ladder. He squinted his eyes in attempt to see when a crack of light beat down and practically blinded him. Boss grunted as he pushed what appeared to be a sewage lid up and out of the way. He peeped his head through and laughed. He pulled himself through and stool his arms down. "Lenny, pass me the girl" Ryan felt a sickening feeling grow in his stomach. They spoke of her as if she was a prop. He watched Lenny pass him as Calleigh's limbs swung like that of a rag doll. Lenny took one hand to the ladder and pulled himself a step up so that Boss could grab her arms and pull her dead weight body up trough the hole. Lenny followed and gestured for Ryan. Ryan pushed himself to climb up through all of the pain surging through his body. He thought he heard yelling behind him but as he turned around to look Dante roughly pushed him to continue.

"Miami Dade Police Department" he heard from what sounded like Natalia. He knew for sure he'd heard it this time. He couldn't help but turn and look again. He saw lights flashing through the tunnel before two sets of arms roughly grabbed hold of his arms and collar, yanking him up through the hole. Ryan stumbled to get to his feet. Calleigh was already in the van that had been parked, laying helplessly on the ground in the back.

"Get in" Boss said to him as he gestured to the van with his gun. Lenny followed him into the van before gunshots were heard. Multiple. Boss quickly got into the van while Lenny got into the back with the two CSI's and slid the door shut. Boss drove off quickly causing dirt and dust to cloud up.

"What about-" Lenny began. Boss continued driving out of the alley between what appeared to be two abandoned buildings.

"We didn't have time" Boss said flatly as he turned a corner and casually joined the traffic. Lenny grimaced and grabbed the tape and roughly used it to tape Ryan's wrists. He looked down at his arm that was still bleeding and proceeded to wrap the tape around that as well. Ryan squinted his face. It wasn't the best thing but it was helping. He then taped his ankles and did the same to Calleigh before climbing into the front seat and sliding the partition between them closed.

The second it closed Ryan scooted himself over to Calleigh, using his hands that were taped together in front of him to feel for a pulse. The second he got near her however she began to blink her eyes open. "Oh thank God" Ryan sighed. Calleigh looked at him with a confused face.

"The team got one of them. We're down to two. I don't know where we're headed, but we need a plan" Ryan whispered as he tried to help Calleigh to a sitting position. Calleigh nodded as she began removing her ankle tape. "Calleigh, you can't just-" Ryan started before she hushed him and continued. She ripped them into longer strips and reapplied them to make it look like her ankles were still taped, but it was open in the back. Halfway through when she began Ryan caught on and began doing the same thing. The two helped each other removed their hand bonds and wrap them the same way.

"Go out with a fight" Calleigh muttered.

"Go out with a fight" Ryan repeated. They spent the next 20 minutes discussing a plan that they knew wasn't foolproof. But they had to try...

13 minutes earlier...

Eric paced the street trying to keep a clear mind trough the cops and sirens and news reports shouting. He kept staring at his phone timer. This was ridiculous, how could either of them agree to this deal. He looked up at the building at the traumatized people. Most were sobbing, tear stained faces that had no choice but to look straight out into this madness. This was torture of all sorts.

Minutes went by.. Eric couldn't stand it anymore, he walked up to the door. He heard the team yelling after him but he wasn't going to enter. He just needed to know what they were dealing with. He needed some type of sign, and he got it.

"Trip wire" he heard in a faint yell. He didn't hear anything after that. He shook his head.

"Damnit Calleigh" he said under his breath. He knew she probably got it good after that stunt. But she was a smart girl, a smart girl who always put others above herself. Eric turned around swiftly and returned to the team. "There is a trip wire in place somewhere in that building, we need to be aware of this when we enter" he said calmly. He watched as the team and responding officers nodded in understanding. This is not how he expected his day to go.

3 minutes left.

Eric stood in front of the entrance next to two officers with a battering ram ready to bust the door down. Natalia and Horatio walked up towards Eric with their hands on their guns.

2 minutes left.

Trip stood with some officers over a blueprint of the building and city plans spread over the hood of a car figuring out where it was that they could have gone. There was really on one option and it was a long shot at that. They marked the route with a red pencil and tried to figure out where it lead.. It seemed to be a dead end. "Can everyone hear me?" Trip said as he held down on his ear piece. Eric, Natalia, and Horatio all replied with a 'yes' in turn. This would be his way to communicate to them where to go. For them all to communicate in general.

1 minute left.

This was it. This was their time. Everyone pulled their weapons as the two officers lifted and gripped tightly onto the battering ram. 30 seconds. Horatio took a breath. He was always confident in his decisions, his team, and his gut. But something about this was testing him. He didn't want to take the deal, not without knowing what shape Ryan was in, what these men were capable of, or what their plan was. He felt the lump growing in his chest. He had lost too many team members before and he was not looking forward to loosing anymore. Not these ones.

Eric turned around and looked at Natalia and Horatio. Natalia readjusted her hands on her gun. "Let's get our guys back" she said as she returned her gaze to the front. Eric and Horatio both nodded. 5, 4, 3, 2..

"NOW" Eric shouted. The second the word left his mouth the two officers slammed the battering ram into the door, breaking the frame down and shattering the surrounding glass. Eric, Horatio and Natalia entered, trying to get past the people trying to run out. Horatio was going to go straight to the back when he saw a man laying on the floor, leaning up against the far wall. As much as he wanted to save his team members, he couldn't ignore a civilian in distress. He ran over and re holstered his gun, applying pressure to his bleeding abdomen, one of the many gunshots earlier must have got him as well. He looked up to see that Eric was caught in a similar situation. Eric was holding onto a woman who was limping heavily. This was not how this was supposed to go down. Someone needed to…

The two men turned to see Natalia running forward with into the back of the bank. She waited until she got to the explosion site. "Okay Trip, I have a straight hall in front of me" Natalia called out. She looked down and saw the trip wire and smiled. "That's my girl" She said softly. "Trip wire is directly at the explosion site" she said as she stepped over it carefully and continued down the hall, shining a flashlight over her gun.

"You're gonna continue straight Natalia, let me know where you find the next explosion site" Trip said over the head set. Natalia saw the blood trail from what she was assuming was Ryan. She felt her heart drop. It didn't look good. Natalia picked up the pace to a slow jog. Things began to get darker. She slowed down when she saw debris around. "I think I have the next entrance. It's about.. I don't know... " Natalia turned around and looked at where she had come from. "30 yards from the first explosion?" She said out loud.

"Natalia we are on our way towards you now" Horatio said into the headset.

"Give me just one second to try and figure out where you're at Nat" Trip replied. Natalia heard something. Like metal grinding against metal. Then faint voices. "Miami Dade Police Department!" She yelled as she ran blindly into the muck of the new tunnel. She had no idea if it was the right way or not, she had no back up, but she had to try. She shined her flashlight and heard more voices and then finally light. A figure. She saw the last few inches of Ryan getting pulled into the opening at the top of a ladder. A man at the bottom raised a gun the second her flashlight beam met his face, but she was quicker. She fired first and hit him right after his first round went off. It missed her by mere inches. The bullet didn't miss him though. Straight through his chest. Natalia heard the team trudging behind her. She ran to the man and checked quickly for a pulse. Nothing. She quickly climbed the ladder, which wasn't an easy task in heels, and pulled herself out to see the van pulling into traffic just barely, behind the dirt cloud that it left behind.

"Damnit. DAMNIT!" She cursed as she threw her flashlight onto the ground. Eric quickly emerged out of the hole and stood next to her with his hands on his hips. He watched as she walked away. He knew how she felt, because he was just as let down. They were so close. Now they had the real work to do. Because now they had a crime scene…

 **I really hope you guys are liking it so far! Let me know what you think! R &R as always!**

 **Also on a side note… (you don't have to read this part if you don't want. It's not relevant to the story)**

 **I work at a preschool and today there was a shooter that killed two people and injured two more at a mall only a few miles away from us and we had to go into lock down. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. Not because I was scared for myself, but because I was scared for the kids. Life is so precious. The shooter was captured and everyone was fine at the end of the day but it's just a little reminder to appreciate each day you have on this Earth. Thanks for taking the time to read this is you did. I appreciate each and every one of you guys! Have a great day or night 3**


	3. Chapter 3

Eric sat silently as a table with Natalia while Horatio paced around the boardroom. They were only to collect a few pieces of evidence which were now processing. Alexx was working on the body and all they could do now was wait. Wait and try and think of their next move. They found Ryan's phone at the scene in the front of the bank and Calleigh's phone was left there as well. They had nothing to physically track them off of. They were able to get a small track off the dirt from the van that trace was working on. Eric sat with his elbows on the table, his hands in a fist resting against his temple. Visions of Calleigh flashed through his head. He wished that he done more. He wished that he had done so many things differently. He and Calleigh had just begun 'seeing each other after what felt like years of waiting and hiding what they felt for each other. He thought back to it all.

It was two weeks ago that it had started. The two of them would usually pass each other on thursday nights on their runs after work, turns out they both favored the same trail. After a while they started meeting up and running it together once a week out of pure convenience. It was nice to have someone to run with, but he couldn't help but adore her and the extra time he now got to spend with her. One of the days Calleigh had tripped over a divot in the trail and stumbled a bit before Eric caught her elbow and steadied her again. The two laughed for a second at her clumsiness. She had leaned down to check her shoelaces and as she stood up she was a little too close to Eric. Closer than needed at least. He remembered that it was warm that day and that the sun was starting to set. The way the light hit her face made her look like an absolute angel and her eyes glow in a shade of green that he didn't even know existed. And it was in that moment that he went for it. He reached down and cupped her face with one hand and brought his lips to hers and in that moment everything was still. Just one kiss. He remembered relishing in the feeling of it all and not thinking about anything else other than how perfect everything was. He felt her hand on his hips and she pulled away. He remembered every detail. The blush that spread across her face and the embarrassed smile that she wore as she looked at the ground. He remembered the little chuckle that escaped her mouth as she took a step back and looked him in the eyes and the warmth he felt in his body when he realized that this was finally going to happen. Hopefully. They never really talked about it, they just went on with life. Kept going on their runs, working as usual, and occasionally after work they would meet up with everyone for drinks that would typically end in one kissing the other goodbye but he didn't mind it. Whatever it was that they had, he didn't mind. He knew eventually they would talk, there wasn't a rush. Not until now. _Think positive._

He went back that day in his head. He really did remember every detail. Calleigh's obnoxious highlighter yellow sneakers that he always picked on her for, her typical black leggings, her pink tank top, and the bracelet she always wore when they ran….

Eric shot up from the table causing Horatio to stop his pacing to look at him. Natalia stared at him waiting for an explanation. Eric looked at the two of them as if he was confused as to why they weren't as excited as he was. "Eric.." Horatio said as he waited for Eric to explain his sudden jolt of energy. Eric felt a smile spread across his face.

"It's Thursday" he said simply as he pushed in his chair and jogged out of the room and down the hallway. Natalia looked to Horatio hoping that he might have a clue as to what he was talking about but all she got in return was the same confused face. The two rushed out of the room, following Eric to one of the technical rooms. When they got there he was already sitting at a desk typing furiously, opening and closing windows as he went. Natalia and Horatio stood behind him and watched as he ran different numbers through systems. A page slowly began loading on a massive scale map. He turned around in the chair to face the two of them.

"It's thursday.." Natalia repeated as she looked to Eric. He smiled. He turned to look at the screen before speaking, it was still tracing whatever he had put in.

"On thursday's me and Calleigh run the trail by the back roads near the Everglades, I noticed that she always wears one of those fitness bracelets, yah know, the ones that track your heart rate and the calories you burn, and, as a new feature that she so happily mentioned last week, one that tracks your distance. She was talking about how you can free run, plug it into your computer when you're done and it will show you the trail you ran on a map with the distance and your time. Today, is thursday. So she should be wearing it" Eric explained. Natalia smiled.

"So if she's wearing it" Natalia started.

"Which she probably is" Horatio cut in.

"Then we can track her location" Eric finished.

"And we can find them both" Horatio said with a smile.

They watched eagerly as the map shrunk and shrunk getting more and more accurate as it did so.

"Eric, can we pull this up on something portable?" Horatio asked as the anticipation began to kick in. Eric nodded as he sent some links to a handheld tablet and the three rushed out the doors to the Hummer. They took only one and called for backup on the way out of the parking lot. The three of them drove casually down the highway for a little while, without a specific location it was all that they could really do. The location was getting closer and closer. They were going to find them. The could tell that they were still moving which meant it was likely that the bracelet was still with Calleigh and they hadn't thought to remove it yet. 20 more minutes went by. By the look of the map they were only a few miles away at this point. Horatio picked up the walkie talkie and held down the button. "I want lights off and sirens silenced. We don't want to scare them off. This is our last shot" He said firmly. The two cop cars behind him both flashed their high beams at the Hummer to let them know that they understood. "Let's get our team" he said in a low voice as he accelerated forward.

Calleigh and Ryan

Calleigh squinted as they went over a rough bump causing her back to hit the hard side of the van again. She looked over to Ryan who seemed a little out of it. His arm didn't seem to be bleeding as much as it was previously. Lenny putting tape over it was oddly polite. Calleigh scooted herself closer to Ryan. "Thank you, for earlier" She said quietly. Ryan opened his eyes and looked to her and nodded. She looked horrible, he couldn't imagine he looked any better. Their plan was no good and they both knew it. The car came to a stop and Calleigh felt her breathing stop for a moment. This was it, this was their shot. Ryan reached over and squeezed Calleigh's hand.

"We can do this" she said quietly as she slumped her body over and closed her eyes, pretending to still be unconscious. Ryan took a deep breath and waited. The door of the van slid open and the light that poured in was blinding. Lenny reached in and roughly grabbed Ryan by the arm, pulling him out of the van and into the bright light. He tried his hardest to take in his surrounding. The ground was a sort of sand/ gravel mixture. He could hear water moving about somewhere too. He blinked a few times and finally got a solid picture. They were at a run down loading dock. He could see a boat at the far end, where he assumed they were heading next. These guys really did have a plan. Ryan watched nervously as Lenny reached back in to grab Calleigh. Boss was already half way down the other end of the dock with multiple bags in his hands that Ryan assumed he was going to load onto the boat. He looked back to Ryan and smiled.

"Princess is still out cold Boss" Lenny yelled as he pulled at her arms that fell limp as he let go. Boss threw the bags on to the boat and walked back towards them. Ryan looked at Calleigh who opened her eyes and nodded to him. Here goes nothing. Calleigh took a leg and roughly kicked Lenny directly to the center of his face as Ryan took an elbow to the back of his neck knocking him unconscious. Lenny dropped his gun and as quickly as Ryan had picked it up Boss was firing off rounds towards the van. Ryan got into the van and handed Calleigh the gun he had picked up as he reached into the front seat and grabbed another weapon. They might actually be able to pull this off. The second the idea passed through his head a bullet ricocheted off the side of the car and nailed Calleigh in the shoulder. The yell that escaped her lips was enough to distract Ryan long enough for their plan to fall apart.

"Drop them NOW!" Boss yelled in a deep voice. Ryan put his hands in the air and looked back to Calleigh who was using her hand to tightly grip her shoulder that was now bleeding profusely. Boss looked back and forth between the two of them with his gun pointed at them both. He used his leg to nudge Lenny a few times. He grunted a bit and then finally rolled over. Who were these guys and why were they so tough? "Get up Len." Boss said without taking an eye off of the two. Boss used his heel to push Lenny onto his side again. "Get up?" He yelled. Lenny somehow got onto all fours and stood shakily. Calleigh could see the blood drip down under his masked face. She surely must've broken his nose. Boss reached into the car and grabbed Ryan by the arm in the exact spot that he was bleeding from sending pain through his entire body. He looked to Calleigh who could only blink. That was their shot. Their one opportunity. Boss turned back to Lenny. "Drag her to the boat, you think you can handle that?!" He said in a disgusted tone. The anger that Lenny displayed behind his eyes was one that Calleigh knew wasn't good. They had embarrassed him in front of his boss. He grabbed hold of Calleigh's ankle and yanked hard enough to pull her out of the car, landing her on her back. She let out a small groan as her body his the ground. Lenny grabbed her under her arm pit and began heading towards the boat behind Ryan and Boss. He was pulling her at such a speed that she had trouble keeping up. Her heels getting stuck into the gravel and her footing failing her. She watched ahead as Ryan got thrown into the boat as Boss held the gun to his head. Calleigh felt her heart drop. What were they going to do now. Eventually they caught up and Calleigh got thrown into the boat next to Ryan. Boss started the boat as Calleigh turned back at the sound of tires on gravel. Who else would be coming… this place was abandoned. She saw the front of the Hummer and felt relief surged through her body. The boat took off quickly as Boss clenched the wheel. Calleigh watched frantically as the officers and her team drew guns and fired a few rounds off. One clipping Boss in the side. He stopped the boat and stood the two CSI's on the edge. It was like Deja Vu. The two of them standing there, facing their team, praying that they would make it out of this mess. Calleigh felt a rope against her ankle and looked down. Boss was tying her ankle to a weight that he placed on the edge of the boat next to her.

"Release them and we will let you go. Coast Guard is on the way. This is your best option" Horatio spoke loud and clear through the speaker. Boss smiled.

"Deal!" He yelled out. He went back to his wheel and smiled at Lenny. "Put one in his leg to make it fun" He said. Before Ryan could turn around a bullet left the chamber of Lenny's gun and entered his leg with enough momentum to send him off the edge of the boat into the water. Boss held down the gas and as the boat took off Calleigh went off the edge, still attached to the weight. The team watched in pure fear as the weight pulled her down fast and violently.

"Calleigh!" Eric shouted as he ran into the water.

"Hold your fire!" Horatio yelled at all of the officers as he watched Eric run in front of it all, not caring if he got shot. The lights from one of the Coast Guard boats could be seen in the distance followed by three smaller police boats. Ryan surfaced quickly and dove back down to try and get to Calleigh. The water was murky and hard to see but she wasn't far under the surface. Eric began swimming once he was waist deep in the salt water of the loading dock. He could hear sirens and see flashing lights but none of it was relevant. Ryan tugged and pulled at the rope until he figured a new plan. He came up for air again seeing Eric growing closer. His body was aching. He dove down again and lifted the weight enough so that Calleigh could surface and breathe for as long as he could hold. The second she reached the top she took in as deep a breath as she could before Ryan dropped the weight and surfaced himself. The water surrounding the two quickly turning red. Eric was finally close enough, he removed the knife from his belt and dove down, cutting at the rope as hard as he could, only making it about halfway through before the need for oxygen burned at his lungs. He came back up to see a police boat only meters away, they could get Ryan to safety. He dove down again and realized that Calleigh was no longer flailing as she was before. He sawed at the rope and finally got through, grabbing Calleigh around the waist pushing off the ground to bring her to the top as quickly as he could. The two officers on the boat grabbed her and pulled her onto the boat, beginning compressions. Eric pulled himself on and the boat pulled toward the shore where two ambulances now awaited. Ryan was thankfully doing decently given the circumstances, Calleigh however was still motionless. He watched helplessly as an officer pushed harshly down on her chest, shaking her limbs and body with the force. The white interior of the boat now streaked with crimson red blood. He look to Ryan and hopped off the boat as it approached land.

"Can you walk?" He asked. Ryan was still staring at Calleigh with a lost look on his face. He felt responsible. "Ryan!" Eric yelled. Ryan looked to him and down at his leg and back to Eric. He was in shock. Eric reached out his hands to help Ryan off the boat. His leg instantly gave out the second he hit the ground. Eric gracefully grabbed him around the waist and pulled him to a stretcher then quickly turned back to Calleigh who was now on her side spewing up water from her lungs. Eric sat down onto the gravel and took a deep breath. It was all okay. Horatio squatted next to him.

"Good work" he said gently as he walked over to the boat to check on Calleigh for himself. Natalia was already in the back of the ambulance with Ryan, she looked worried as he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. He saw out in the distance that the Coast Guard was boarding the boat that the men were trying to escape on. Eric closed his eyes for a moment. It was all okay, he thought to himself again. He stood up and walked over the the boat where they were currently helping Caleigh get onto a stretched herself, placing an oxygen mask over her face. Her clothes clung to her small frame of a body as the blood from her injuries soaked the sheet of the stretcher. She help tightly to Horatio's hand as they wheeled her to an ambulance. Horatio nodded to Eric who then climbed into the back of the ambulance that Calleigh would be loaded into. Little did they know, this would only be the beginning…

 **Okay guys, a nice long one! I figured you all deserved it! Thank you for the thoughts on my last chapter, I noticed there were far less that what had been received on the first one so I hope this gets you guys interested again! More EC to come :) Let me know what you guys think in the reviews!**


	4. Chapter 4

**On a super important side note, there is a poll I just created on my page that asks what you guys would be interested in seeing me write in regards to my next story so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE fill it out! I typically write the same old same old and you all seem to like it, but I am also open to writing something different! So let me know please! I care a lot about what you guys want!**

Horatio stood with his hands on his hips as the two ambulances pulled away. Within seconds of the vehicles pulling out onto the street there was more gunfire. In reaction Horatio pulled out his gun and turned it towards the sound. He watched as a one of the Coast Guardsmen fell into the water with a hefty splash. The two men that were responsible for taking Ryan and Calleigh hostage were firing off rounds yet again. It didn't make sense. They had surrendered, everyone saw it! Everyone was too close to fire off any rounds for sure, it wouldn't be accurate, it wouldn't be safe. All he could do was watch. He quickly ran to the Hummer and pulled out his radio.

"This is Horatio Cane, I need air support and back up for a water chase including two armed men. They are heading in the direction of the Main St. Bridge. I repeat, they are armed and dangerous" He yelled into the radio as he watched the boat take off again. Two more police boats followed as more rounds were fired off. This could not be happening. The Coast Guard's boat quickly fled after picking their man up out of the water, likely to get medical assistance. Horatio leaned up against the side of the Hummer as all three boats disappeared into the horizon with the sound of more faint gunshots. He pulled himself into the Hummer and turned on the radio to the frequency that would match him to that of the police chase and headed back to CSI. He picked up the radio once more before he sped off "I need on one of those helicopters, this, is personal" he said flatly before dropping the receiver and swerving off the gravel to CSI.

….

Natalia watched as they applied countless gauze pads to Ryan's leg in attempt to halt the bleeding at any rate possible, Ryan continued to stare at the ceiling, as if completely unphased by what was happening before him. Natalia leaned over to the EMT and quietly asked "Is he okay?" with concern laced through her voice. The EMT applied more pressure to Ryan's leg and looked at him for a moment as he kept his focus on the ceiling, not sparing a single flinch.

"Well, it's likely shock, we only gave him a small dose of a pain killer, but honestly, if he's calm and not reacting to the pain, it's something to be thankful for" The EMT explained as he stood to apply a better angle of pressure to Ryan's leg. Natalia turned and looked out of the back of the window of the ambulance just as more gunfire had begun. It couldn't be heard over the sirens but it was certainly visible. She felt her heart drop. They were going to get away. She swallowed hard and turned back to Ryan and picked up his hand that was gripping the bar of the stretcher.

"Is Calleigh okay?" He asked quietly. Natalia smiled.

"Yes, Calleigh is going to be just fine" She said, not truly knowing the answer. She saw her start to breathe again, and if anyone was a quick healer, it was her. So she went with her gut, that she hoped was true. Ryan nodded and went back to staring at the ceiling, squeezing Natalia's hand gently. Luckily for them, there was a hospital close by, it wasn't Miami General, but it was a hospital. They quickly approached and stopped as they unloaded Ryan and rushed him in. Natalia let go of his hand, "I'll be right behind you" She called after him. She had to see that Calleigh was alright too. She waited semi-patiently on the side of the ambulance bay and watched as the ambulance holding Calleigh and Eric backed in. She watched as the doors opened and they quickly pulled Calleigh out. They had her bed up in a 90 degree angle while one of the EMT's had a stethoscope against her chest. She was gripping Eric's hand as if she was holding on for dear life, her eyes wide and her face pale. The second EMT got out of the driver's seat and ran around to the back to help move the stretcher out. Natalia stood against the wall watching Eric hop out and move the stretcher along with them while Calleigh violently grabbed at the oxygen mask as if trying to force it any closer to her face than it already was. "What the hell is happening?" Natalia yelled over all of the background noise.

"Secondhand drowning, Sir you need to stay back" One of the EMT's yelled. They got to the door before a doctor who they'd seen before put a hand up to Eric. Eric tried to push past the man until security got up and held him back. Natalia quickly rushed up to Eric to try and calm him.

"She needs someone! You can't just take her by herself!" Eric shouted as he watched them run her down the hallway. They continued to push the stretcher with Calleigh through the doors while Eric got stuck behind. Natalia grabbed onto Eric's arm and pulled him back towards her as hard as she could. Eric quickly tore himself out of her grip and watched as the doors closed.

"Eric…" Natalia started. She watched Eric walked back towards the parking lot, his wet clothes clinging to his torso.

"She was fine Natalia, you don't understand, she was perfectly fine. And then within seconds of getting in there she couldn't breathe again. How does that just happen?!" Eric was now shouting. Natalia looked down. She knew that there was nothing that she could say to make this better. Eric shook his head and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Silently thanking God that the team all had waterproof phone cases. Natalia did the same, the two getting the same message. Natalia immediately started calling someone on her phone. Eric shoved his phone back into his pocket violently. "Got to be KIDDING ME" Eric hissed. Natalia put her phone away.

"Their sending a car to take us back to CSI to get briefed" Natalia said without elaborating. She knew they both got the same message regarding the two men. She knew she didn't need to say anymore. Eric shoved his phone back in his pocket and sat on the curb outside the emergency room. Natalia let out a deep breath and walked over to him. She stood near him for a moment until he finally looked up towards her, squinting at the light.

"We just got them back, and we can't even be with them" Eric said softly as he looked back down at his shoes. Natalia understood perfectly. It was hard. After everything that had happened in this one day, they hadn't had a single opportunity to rest. Natalia hadn't even come to terms with the fact that she had shot and killed one of the men. But they didn't have time to slow down, this was their life. Before Natalia could reply a police cruiser pulled up the the entrance, a few feet away. Eric stood and turned back to Natalia for a moment before the two walked towards the car and shortly after, began heading back to CSI.

…

This entire time Calleigh hadn't really taken the time to really just take in the situation. She was a quick thinking girl. Things never really settled in with her until after they were over. And she thought it was. She remembered everything with pretty good memory. All of the trauma with Ryan… God she hoped he was okay. Going over board was one that really shook her for a moment. But even when she was struggling to remain calm under water while being weighted to the bottom she didn't panic. It was just something that was happening that she needed to get out of. She was never one to stop and think if it meant sacrificing even a second of time she could be using on other things.

And then the memories got vivid. A flash of seeing Eric while she was above the water for a split second that Ryan had granted her. Feeling her lungs burning while the weight of the sun pushed down on her chest. The blurry vision of Ryan pulling as hard as he could to get her free. Eric cutting at the rope. And then she finally realized, this might just be it. She felt the weight get lighter and lighter as she stopped fighting for a moment, closing her eyes just for a quick seconds. Then it was bright light and the burning again as she coughed up impossible amounts of water. Her first breath felt like heaven and the second the air graced her lungs the pain in her body returned. She remembered the fear setting in as a million questions finally hit her. Was Ryan okay? Where are the suspects? Did anyone else get hurt? Was she badly hurt? She needed a familiar face, anything, anyone. And there Horatio was, blocking the light that was glaring at her from above with his tall figure. "Calleigh, hey, look right here. We got you now" He said calmly as he grabbed her hand. She could finally calm herself for just a moment as they pushed a back brace under her body and lifter her to stretcher. It was all settling in. She saw Ryan and Natalia get into an ambulance. Horatio was here… Eric… She couldn't think to speak as the put an oxygen mask over her face that felt like the perfect thing in the moment. She finally relaxed her body and leaned back into the bed, breathing in all that she could. She saw Horatio turn and gesture to someone as he let go of her hand. She tried to keep calm, she was getting help. But where was Eric. He had been there, she knew she saw it. As soon as they loaded her into the ambulance she heard his gentle voice. "Hey Cal, we'll be there soon okay? Everything is going to be okay" He said reassuringly as a hand reached towards her and brushed some hair off her face that had be slicked on with water. His touch was warm and she couldn't help but feel like things were okay.

"Everyone is okay?" Calleigh mumbled through the oxygen mask. Eric took hold of her hand that was anxiously gripping the railing on the side of the bed. She didn't even realize that she had gripped his hand back so strongly.

"Ryan took a little bit of a hit with his leg, but he seemed okay. Horatio and Natalia are both fine as am I. Lets focus on getting you to be okay for right now" Eric replied back to her as the EMT applied pressure to her shoulder. Calleigh nodded and gave a weak smile. It was all alright. Finally. She leaned back and took a few more deep breaths. Eric kept alert though, looking at the monitors and watching the EMT who was treating her. And then within the next two minutes it all shifted. Calleigh sat herself up a little bit and squinted her face. The second Eric saw even a trace of pain grace her face he shot up in alert.

"You good?" Eric asked as he watched her heart rate increase on the machine. He watched because it was all he could do. For once, the situation was out of his hands and it was the most terrifying feeling in the world. He watched as she lost herself. He watched as the EMT yelled to the driver asking how far out they were. He watched as he raised the bed to help in any way he could. He watched him pump more drugs into her IV in effort to calm her down but nothing. She gripped at her mask and at Eric's hand and her eyes were so full of fear that he didn't even know how to react other than to hold tight to what part of her he had. And then they got here… Trying to figure out the best plan of attack against the two armed men that were still out there. Eric braced himself with his hands that gripped either side of the table as he looked at all the images colorfully projected across the screen before them. "We need to nail these guys, and we need to move now" Horatio said hoarsely as he left the glass room and stormed off down the hallway as he picked up a phone call. This wasn't just a chase anymore, this was personal...

 **This is the first story that I have written that has been back to back craziness and it's really enjoyable to do but also really hard! I'm loving the challenge and I'm loving that you guys are enjoying it! Let me know what you think as always in the reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay guys! Before you get to reading this chapter I want you to stay with me! This chapter took forever because I really wanted to make sure that it was everything that I had pictured it to be. I want you guys to be able to read this and imagine it in that same detail that I do. That being said, this is a crazy chapter but the next one will slow things down a bit so we can all that a breather that after this chapter, you will need! So, enjoy, and leave me your thoughts!**

Horatio swiftly entered the DNA lab at the end of the marble floored hallway and looked to Valera who he had just gotten off the phone with. "Who is he?" Horatio asked blandly as he finally reached where she was standing. Valera offered an accomplished grin as she handed Horatio a printed sheet of paper that revealed the biological DNA of the man who was still laying in the morgue. Getting his identity was harder than a typical case due to the speed at which everyone wanted it done. Horatio studied the sheet for a long while. Valera typed on her computer for a little while he was distracted and pulled up a photo of the man down in the morgue.

"Dante Wellington, 4 priors for aggravated assault and 1 for robbery" Valera read proudly as she turned the screen for Horatio to see. He put the paper down on the table and stared at the screen for a moment with his hands on his hips. Looked like your average criminal, nothing really stood out.

"What are the family ties here?" Horatio asked while trying to find a way to tie him to the other two missing men. Valera looked back to screen and typed in a few more variables, eventually pulling up a small… very small list of relatives. Of that small list only one was still alive, his mother. "That's not our connection. Valera do me a favor, pull up the records for all of those past charges and find me the names and information of the people who posted bail for him" Horatio said as he turned and headed back out of the small room. Valera nodded and took a deep breath as she got back to work.

Down in the morgue Alexx was found pushing another lost soul into the area they keep the bodies on the wall. She ran a finger over the name label. Alexx always did have a special connection with all of the people who passed through. Natalia lightly pushed open the doors to the grim room and greeted Alexx with a tight, forced smile. Alexx looked up from what she was currently lost in thought in and smiled back at Natalia. Her smile though, one of more concern and sympathy. Alexx knew that the team was stressed over Ryan and Calleigh. She was as well, but she also was familiar with what was happening with the two of them specifically. She knew the odds. She knew in her heart that they would pull through.

"I have to pick up.. the ugh.." Natalia struggled for the sentence she was trying to produce. It was never, ever easy to kill someone. Regardless of if they were guilty on multiple accounts. Alexx nodded and picked a form off of her lab bench and handed it to Natalia, ending her need to finish what she was saying.

"Cause of death, gun shot wound to the back, striking the heart on the way through" Alexx said in a monotone voice. There was no 'nice way' to put it. She had been in this situation before. Everyone at the lab knew that Natalia wasn't usually a sharp shooter, nor did she really shoot that much at all. In fact, she avoided it at all costs. She knew that this must have been hard for her. Natalia stared blankly at the document for a moment and then took a moment to gather her thoughts. She didn't have time to feel bad for herself. She did what she had to do. She took a breath and looked back up at Alexx.

"Thanks Alexx" She said as she exhaled. Natalia turned back around on her heel and exited the morgue. Alexx watched as she left, it was all that she could do. They were all basically helpless at this point, until there was a break in the case…

Eric pulled a fresh tank top over his head as he reached into his locker for a new shirt. He was on autopilot. He finished changing into dry clothes and headed back out to the labs. He walked at a fast pace with a stone cold look on his face to match the feeling in his heart. He saw Horatio enter one of the many labs and followed him in after. Valera quickly looked up at the two men, Eric looking more disheveled than she had ever seen. Horatio placed his hands on the edge of the table and looked at her, waiting for whatever she could potentially have to say.

"I haven't quite finished-" Valera started to try and explain before being cut off by Horatio. Valera had told Horatio that she would keep him updated with what she found, and she hadn't called him yet. It had only been 40 minutes since he had given her the orders to find the information of the people who posted Dante's bail in the past. It was digging that she didn't exactly specialize in either. That taken into account, she had gotten some information.

"Anything you have.." Horatio said in a calm tone. Eric just stood and stared. Waiting. Praying, that something would give them the smallest idea of where to start. The other two men still have not been apprehended. The helicopter had eyes on them for a short period of time, but lost visual under a bridge. They were still searching, but it just meant that it was another lead lost. Valera looked back and forth between the two men. She knew the stakes were high and it was all depending on the small portion of information that she had managed to dig up. She felt her heart speed up and knew she had to perform.

"The first four aggravated assaults.." She began. Eric took a step forward to nosily look at her screen. He saw that Valera got tense at his approach and took a small step back. Everyone was depending on what she had to say. He got his head on his shoulders and tried to give her space.

"All four were made at employees of this small thrift store in Opa Locka. After doing a little digging I found that the store sells not clothes, but old and used military apparel. Apparently they were selling military grade weapon under the counter which is where we get to the interesting details" Valera spoke with more confidence now. She transferred one of the screens she was viewing onto the big screen as she continued.

"The store went out of business a little while ago after they were investigated, at which point I couldn't access any more information. Assuming that they are being protected by someone higher up. Now, all of this is important because the person who bailed him out all of these times is Geno Morenno. Geno used to work with the company for a short while but quit after an altercation with the manager over some of the deals according to an old employee that I was able to contact. As for specifics I couldn't get any. So I looked up Geno Morenno… " Valera swiped again and put Geno Morenno up on the screen. "Geno is apparently 73 years old and lives in Tampa, and according to the employee Geno is probably around 30. Dug some more, employee supplied me with the last known address of "Geno".. Might not be anything seeing as his identity is fake, but it's worth a shot" Valera explained.

Without saying a single word Horatio left the glass enclosed room and headed down the hallway, pulling his keys from his pocket as he did so. Eric snatched the paper that Valera had been reading off of from the counter and smiled at her. "Nice going" he said strongly and lightly jogged after Horatio. They weren't even sure of what they could potentially find, but they knew that it was a start. Natalia saw the two heading down the hallway with determination in their faces that could only mean that they had a lead. Before the two even reached her Horatio was ordering away.

"Natalia I need you to have backup ready, we have a lead, follow close behind" he said flatly as he pushed both exit doors open. Eric caught one of them and held it open as Natalia followed along, still holding the document Alexx handed her. She quickly followed through the doors and ran to her car that was on the other side of the parking garage. She pulled out her phone as she got in and backed out of her space, completely forgetting about the stress and guilt she was feeling earlier. Horatio and Eric raced out of the garage with Natalia close in tow. Eric began to pull out the GPS before Horatio reached across him and pushed the glove compartment shut.

"I know where it is" he said flatly. He turned on the sirens and whipped around a corner, cars pulling out of the way as he did so. Eric looked down at the address, trying to understand how Horatio could know where it was … It had been one of the many places that he used to be seen before... Before everything got messed up. Horatio's face was emotionless. This entire case was getting more and more dark and twisted. Eric could only hope that it was coincidence. That this suspect wasn't involved with Raymond... There couldn't be. That was all resolved years ago, and Eric remembered it all vividly. Another corner turned. Eric checked the rear view mirror to make sure Natalia was close behind, and she was, with two other police vehicles following. Eric didn't say another word. After a few more minutes they finally pulled off the high way and into a neighborhood. The exactly neighborhood they had investigated years ago. They eventually came to a rough stop as the two got out of the Hummer and immediately pulled their weapons out. Natalie showed up beside the two, gun pulled out as well, within seconds. Four more officers creeping up behind them slowly. Horatio turned around to make sure that they were all there before he nodded and headed toward the run down, shack of a house. He got to the door and took a deep breath, remembering the last time he had been there.

He kicked the door down and yelled "MIAMI DADE POLICE DEPARTMENT" as he quickly entered. Everyone filed into the house quickly after yelling after entering every room, "Clear!". Horatio reached the room in the far back, it appeared to be a bedroom. He didn't bother telling them it was clear, he was too busy with something else. He hunched over and looked at the computer screen and it's many open tabs. He ran a hand over his mouth and took a step back. One tab searched "Duquense", the second tab searched "Wolfe". Horatio clicked the third tab, revealing a Google search of "Raymond Caine relatives", the search showed many links in regards to his obituary, one however, that had already been selected, read "Horatio Caine, Miami Crime Labs". They had been back to this house already. How were they so quick? How did they know Raymond? Eric and Natalia entered the room and put down their weapons as they realized the room was clear. They watched as Horatio reached down towards the printer and pulled out the sheet of paper that had been left. It was page 7 of 8 that held the directory the the crime labs. They were being studied, and wherever the two had gone, they had information regarding the team. Eric saw the tabs and knew that this was only going to get worse. The three stood in silence for a moment, none quite sure of where to begin.

"We need this scene processed" Horatio spoke quietly as he removed his phone and walked out of the house. His face holding an expression that none had really seen before. He seemed at a loss. Eric nodded and walked further into the room as his boss walked out. Natalia put her hands on her hips and looked at the room, mentally processing everything. They had been in situations like this before, where they were being stalked and attacked. They had been here. They were prepared, but nothing really prepares you for finding out that the person hunting your team was also involved with your dead brother. "Let's get started" Natalia exhaled. Eric nodded and put a hand on her back for a moment as the two walked out of the room. It was a hard case, a hard day. They hadn't gotten any form of rest. They needed to be there for one another. Once they got outside they saw the tail lights of the Hummer pull out down the street, speeding away. Eric stopped for a moment and looked to Natalia.

"Guess we're sharing a kit" Eric huffed under his breath as walked with Natalia towards her own Hummer, silently wondering where it was that Horatio had rushed off towards. They both knew that Horatio would let them know if the event that something concerned them. The two re-entered the house and began processing what they could. Eric bent down and looked at a cigarette that still smelt heavily. They had been here within the last hour. Eric shook his head, frustrated at everything. Frustrated that this was happening, that they were so close again, frustrated that -" he stopped in his thoughts and felt his heart drop. He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed the hospital.

"Hi I need information regarding two of our officers that are in your care? Last names Wolfe and Duqense?" Eric stated firmly and clearly. There was no real need to panic, there's no way that the two suspects would be ballsy enough to go to the hospital after Calleigh and Ryan. Eric tried to steady his breathing as he saw Natalia's face grow concerned. The line was relatively silent other than the sound of typing.

"We don't have records for either of those names" the young woman on the other end of the line answered.

"They were admitted around 2 hours ago? Wolfe with an E on the end and Duquense! It's spelled D-u-q-" Eric tried to explain before the phone was passed to another person who then picked up.

"We are not able to release information regarding those people at this time" the voice on the other end stated clearly. Eric felt a surge of anger grow inside him. What did he mean? These were his teammates.

"I work with the Police Department and those two people do as well. With all due respect, I don't think you understand the severity of the current situation" Eric said firmly. Without a seconds pause the man responded back.

"You are more than welcome to come here and we can directly discuss the two people you are inquiring about, but we cannot release any information over the phone". Eric hung up and was about to say something to Natalia before she pulled out her keys again and headed towards the exit to the house.

"Secure the crime scene please" she said in a firm voice as she jogged to her car with Eric behind her. The two drove over to the hospital, only slightly going over the speed limit, emergency lights spinning on top of the car. The arrived in a little under 15 minutes and walked into the hospital, heading towards the information desk. They placed both badges on the counter and watched as the young woman behind the counter scooted her wheeled office chair away from the desk.

"Let me grab someone who can help you" she said quietly, very quietly. As if she didn't want other people to hear her.

"Finally" Eric huffed as he clipped his badge back to his belt. A few moment later a Doctor appeared, Eric opened his mouth to ask about his two friends when he saw Horatio appear behind the doctor. The words he was about to say were torn from his mouth. Why was he hear already? What was going on? Natalia looked down at Horatio's hands that were fiddling with his glasses, a nervous trait of his. This didn't feel right.

"If you all would like to take a seat.." The doctor began. For some reason all Eric could feel was anger.

"I would LIKE to know how our friends are and why everyone is beating around a bush" Natalia blurted out. She was a very polite and respectful person, but messing around with information pertaining to her family was not the way to go. The doctor looked to Horatio who nodded at him, as if to give him permission to speak. Horatio knows? Horatio is telling him it's okay to tell them?

"Just give me a room number then, how about that?" Eric stated, growing more and more frustrated. "H, what is this? We have a case-" Eric began to rattle off before hearing the words that would shatter his soul.

"They've passed on" the doctor interrupted. Eric froze. It wasn't possible. Calleigh was in bad shape sure but she wasn't on her death bed. Ryan was bleeding a lot but... They had been through worse and been fine... Eric tried to process what the man had just said but couldn't even find a place to start. Natalia on the other hand wasn't about to take it.

"No. They were fine. Where are they?" She said, anger running through her veins. The doctor looked down at the ground, understanding what she was feeling. She looked back to Horatio who was just staring at her, blank faced. "I said where are they?!" She said now, her voice just under a yell. People in the waiting room looked to her. Horatio reached out an arm to try and comfort her, she jerked her body away. She didn't want comfort, she wanted answers. She looked over to Eric for him to back her up. They always had each others backs. Instead she saw him holding onto the counter with one arm, his other arm reached up towards his head, his hand covering his eyes. Why was he upset? They weren't.. They could be dead. Dead. The word in her thought brought everything back to reality. She felt a wave of emotions rush over her body. "What happened? How could that happen?" She asked, her voice cracking. The doctor rubbed his fists.

"We took Mr. Wolfe in for surgery to remove the bullet, there was more bleeding that we could control" he began. Each word the left his mouth leaving burning holes in her body. "Ms. Duquense-" he started again.

"Calleigh. Her name is Calleigh" Eric said without looking up.

"Calleigh had some water in her lungs still, we tried to give her some medication to calm her down. Her lungs were in bad shape already.." The doctor began to explain. Eric tuned everything out after that, he knew her lungs were bad. He remembered her being the hospital before, catching her as she collapsed at work when she couldn't breathe. It made sense. He felt the hot tears roll down his cheeks and didn't even bother the try to compose himself. Horatio patted the man on the shoulder and the doctor floated back down the same hall that they had both come from.

Natalia ran both her hands through her hair. Trying to grip onto something real, something that made sense. They were just getting lunch. Horatio stepped forward and waiting until she looked at him. She finally had the nerve to look him in the eyes and when she did it all became real. She felt something inside of her break. Everything felt broken. Horatio stepped forward and pulled her into him, holding her tight. She hugged him as hard as she could while tears raked through her entire body. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to them. Eric looked up for a moment and pushed the tear tracks off his face and wiped them on his pants. He looked at the ceiling to get his thoughts together and saw the signs above the exit that read "There is only one YOU, be the best one you can be". His closed his eyes again. Calleigh is... Was... The best person. He couldn't process anything else. Nothing felt real. He watched Horatio pull out of the hug and say something to Natalia as he held her by the shoulders. She nodded and wiped the tears off her face.

"What do we do now?" Eric said with a shaken voice. He didn't even realize that the words had come out of his mouth.

"We can no longer risk the two of you being on the case, you will be going to safe houses until this clears up" Horatio said calmly. Eric just nodded. He couldn't fight anymore, he didn't want to. Horatio walked his two broken CSI's through the exit to the two tinted cars that were now parked out front. Eric turned to Natalia and hugged her. He didn't intend on it being for as long as it was but he did. She and Horatio were all that were really left.

"I'll see you in a little while" Eric said softly to her. They needed one another now more than ever. Natalia nodded against Eric's chest and wiped away her tears again as she back away from him and got into one of the cars, it drove away relatively quickly. Eric turned back to Horatio and without even thinking reached out his arms. Horatio stepped forwards and hugged his coworker. They were a family, a now broken family.

"See you soon brother, trust in that" Horatio said firmly as he let go of Eric. Eric nodded and got into the back of the remaining car. He sat blankly in the back seat and just watched the scenery go by. He didn't even think to say anything to the other two men in the car, both officers of course. Nothing mattered now. After what seemed like hours they finally pulled up to a house in a heavily wooded area. Eric hadn't even been paying attention to how they got there. He looked outside as he opened the door. One of the officers quickly got out and stood in front of Eric with his gun drawn. Eric realized he shouldn't have gotten out without their direction to do so.

"Sorry" he said quietly. The officer nodded, he understood it was an accident. The three walked up to the small, login looking house before one of them knocked on the door in a specific type of pattern. A slit in the door opened and someone looked out. A moment after that there was the sound of multiple different locks being opened until the door finally opened entirely. He thought of how Natalia was probably in a similar situation. He hoped she was alright. He walked into the house, nodding at the officer as he did so and waited as the two officers left again. He watched as the officer that was previously there systematically re-locked the door. He backed away headed towards another door in the back, he stopped halfway and gestured for Eric to follow. Eric did so.

"My name's Jordan, you'll be staying back here" he said flatly. Eric nodded along, not really listening. Jordan stopped in front of the only other door in the house, which Eric assumed would be where he was staying. He turned around and faced Eric. "I know this is a hard time, especially being an officer, so I'm sorry about that" he said. Eric looked at the man before him, heavily armed and wearing all black. Eric nodded, he appreciated the message. Jordan frowned a bit. "There's a bathroom back there as well as a few sets of clothes and your bed. I'll be out here" Jordan stated again. Eric tried to offer him a smile but it came out as more of a grimace. He couldn't fake that he was okay. Jordan nodded at Eric's silent response and opened the door, letting Eric enter the room and then shutting it behind him. This was going to be the next few hours or days for him. However long it took for them to capture the suspects... This was life now...

OKAY GUYS PLEASE DO NOT KILL ME PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. I can promise you that this story is going places and that if you stick around and wait for the next chapter that you will not be disappointed. Trust in me! Let me know what you think about this in the reviews and what you think will happen next!


	6. Chapter 6

_Jordan nodded at Eric's silent response and opened the door, letting Eric enter the room and then shutting it behind him. This was going to be the next few hours or days for him. However long it took for them to capture the suspects... This was life now…_

The door shut and Eric stood for a moment, staring blankly at the door in front of him. Everything that had happened still not sinking in. He finally turned around and felt his heart drop. A feeling he had felt only an hour earlier when he learned the news. There in front of him stood a ghost. Calleigh stood with her hands over her mouth, tears streamed down her face. She wore a pair of yoga pants and a baggy MPD t-shirt. Her hair fell over her shoulders and she just stood. Eric stepped towards her and could've sworn he heard her speak. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry" He heard a small voice say. He took another step closer and finally she took a step forwards and wrapped her arms around him so tightly that he realized this couldn't be a ghost. He placed one hand on her back and felt her skin, her bones. She was real. She was alive. He quickly gasped as he wrapped both of his arms around her. One against the back of her head, his fingers through her blonde locks. Holding her tightly. "I'm so sorry Eric" She said again as she gripped small handfuls of his shirt into her fists. Eric couldn't even begin to fathom what was happening but he didn't need to. He thought he had lost her, forever. And here she was, in his arms. He tried to shush her apologizes. Even though he still had no idea what was going on, or that he was mentally drained, it still hurt him to see her in any sort of pain. Her safety and happiness would always be his number one priority.

"We didn't know, we didn't know that this all was going to happen. It was so fast and it's what we had to do and we didn't know" Calleigh started rambling off. Eric held her face and looked at her. She was just as torn apart as he was. He placed kissed on her forehead, trying to calm her down. It all clicked. That's why Horatio left. Calleigh and Ryan were in danger and the kidnappers had still been missing. He had to put them into protective custody. It was the only sure fire way to keep them both safe. That's why he was there first. Eric wiped the tears from her face.

"I'm here, I'm not leaving" He said to her in disbelief himself. She looked up at him with swollen eyes. Neither one of them actually knowing where to start. Calleigh took a deep breath and backed up, sitting on the bed. Eric sat next to her. The two sat in silence for a while until Calleigh finally reached over and grabbed hold of his hand.

"Ryan is okay as well" Calleigh said quietly. Eric nodded. He almost felt guilty for not thinking of Ryan and Natalia this entire time. He assumed Natalia was getting sent to him. Eric finally snapped back to reality. He looked down at his hand and followed Calleigh's hand up to her face.

"Can we just get some sleep? Talk about everything after?" Eric finally said as he rubbed his jaw. Calleigh nodded. She knew he was probably drained after everything he went through in those short hours. She watched as he got up and walked to the other side of the bed and climbed into the bed. Calleigh stood up and just looked at him. He looked exhausted. As if every drop of emotion and energy had been drained from him. He caught her looking at him and feeling badly. This was nobody's fault. He pulled the blankets up on the opposite side of the bed and waited until she finally caved in and walked to other side of the bed and climbed in. She felt horrible for the pain that he went through. Everything happened so fast for them both.

 _She had been alone when they took her back. The second they got her to a secluded room they lowered her bed back down and pumped another shot of some type of medication through her IV. She felt fuzzy and the pain she felt in her lungs was no longer the main focus. She saw at least four people in her room but only actually focused on the doctor's who was controlling her IV and seemed to be in charge. He was tall and handsome and seemed overall like the kind of person who knew exactly what to do. Like she could trust him. He smiled down at her when he saw that she stopped fighting. "Feels better now?" He asked as she looked at him calmly. Calleigh nodded back at him as she furrowed her brows, not understanding fully what he did. He gently grabbed both her wrists and raised them above her head on the bed. "Doing this helps to open your rib cage, which gives your lungs more space to expand" he explained. Calleigh didn't question anything anymore. She started to feel sleepy. She tried to fight it as hard as she could but within seconds she was asleep. She woke again and saw Horatio outside the window of her room speaking to a doctor. She smiled a bit, knowing that Horatio was there with her. She was no longer alone. He eventually entered once he finished his conversation with the man who saved her life._

 _"Hey there" Horatio said quietly with a smile as he crouched down by her bed. Calleigh readjusted herself against the bed to sit up a little bit. "How are you feeling?"_ _He asked as she finally got comfortable._

 _"I've been better" Calleigh said with a smile. She looked weak and tired, reasonably. Horatio's smile quickly faded as he looked at his CSI with a sad look. Calleigh knew it could only mean there was bad news to follow. "What is it?" Calleigh asked, following up to Horatio's facial expression. He frowned and looked back to the men standing at her door. She saw Ryan walk, more like limp, by with two other men. "Protective custody?!" Calleigh answered her own question._

 _"The two of you have become targets of interest in the case. It's the best possible scenario. It's just until the case is closed" Horatio explained. Calleigh reached to where she had left her phone before realizing it wasn't there._

 _"What about Eric and Natalia?" She asked. Her first instinct was to let Eric know. He was her best friend, her partner._

 _"We are informing them that the two of you have passed due to injuries sustained in the shootout. It's the only way to keep a truthful story" Horatio started. Calleigh shook her head, they couldn't do that to them. They would be devastated_.

 _"If the shooters think the two of you have died already they might slip up. But incase they're watching we need it to look legit" he continued. Calleigh felt a pain start up in her stomach. It wasn't right. "They'll get put into custody once I release the news, Natalia will be sent to your location, Eric to Ryan's. You can all clarify things then. I'm sorry things have to be done this way" he finished. Calleigh watched as the men finally entered the room and waited for her to gather her things. She thought one of the officers looked ridiculously familiar. She raised an eyebrow at him and he nodded back. They had worked together a few years back, undercover. She willingly went and looked back to Horatio._

 _"This will all be over soon, you have my word" he said confidently as he watched his last detective walk out of the room._

She had been expecting Natalia to walk through that door when it opened and when she saw Eric she felt at a loss. She sat in the bed with her legs crossed and thought about how insane the day had been. She was pulled from her thoughts when Eric placed a gentle hand on her wrist and pulled her down to his chest. She didn't even fight it. She laid in silence with her head on his chest and just listened to the gentle heart beats through his shirt. No matter how crazy the day things always felt safe when she was near him. He took his hand and placed it on the back of her head and planted a long kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry" she heard him say. Confusion rushed over her. She turned her chin up to look at him with an arched brow.

"When I heard that you had.." Eric started. Calleigh swallows hard. The pain she felt for what he had to go through ached in her heart.

"Eric.." Calleigh tried to stop him. She didn't want him to apologize for anything that had happened, she felt that most of it had been her doing anyways. He placed a hand along her jaw and sat up a bit.

"I was told that you were gone. And I felt like I had lost the biggest part of my life. I realized I never took the time out of all the days we had together to just be honest and open with you" he said with sincerity in his eyes. Calleigh pushed herself up on her elbow and watched him unfold.

"You are so important to me, I never want to go another second in my life without knowing that you have heard the words come from my mouth. You, Calleigh Duquense, are the most important person in the world. I don't want to have to ever live a day in my life without you being in it" he finished as he ran a thumb over her cheek. Calleigh had no words. She just looked at him, his eyes, his face. She heard the words leave his mouth and it finally hit her that he cared for her more deeply than she thought. She had always had feelings for Eric but never wanted to say anything about it. She knew Eric's history and track record, she thought they were just having fun. But everything about him right now was saying something completely different.

"So you won't" Calleigh said quietly in response to everything he had just said. He felt a small smile spread across his face. He leaned down the smallest about and used the hand he had already placed on her cheek to pull her the rest of the distance to him. And that was it. The second his lips touched hers she felt every stress and worry in the world melt away. His arm he had been holding himself up with snaked around her waist as he laid down fully, her small frame leaned up against him. She reached a hand up around his neck as he held her against him for a few moments more before she pulled away. Looking down at him now. This was everything she needed. He pulled her blonde locks over her shoulder and shook his head as he looked at her.

"How did I ever get so lucky" he said in disbelief. Calleigh smiled back at him.

"How did we ever get so luck" she corrected. He leaned up and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Let's get some sleep" he said simply. Calleigh nodded and rolled over, reaching to pull the sheets over her shoulder before Eric grabbed a handful and pulled his arm over her, covering her with blankets while also pulling her close again. The smell of her hair alone was enough to put him into a peaceful slumber regardless of the events prior. The warmth of Eric's arm over her body kept that safe feeling in her soul as she drifted off as well. Tomorrow though, that would be another story…

 **Okay guys! Thank you so much for sticking around if you did! The feedback on the last chapter was awesome and I am (as always) so so so excited that you guys are enjoying my work! Hopefully this chapter answered some questions and is enough to keep you coming back for more! Leave me your thoughts and opinions in the reviews! Until next time...**


	7. Chapter 7

Natalia sat in the back of the tinted car with her head in her hands. Trying to fathom what had just been explained to her. Two of her closest friends, dead. Just like that. She sniffed and wiped her tears off her cheeks with the back of her hand. She focused on the back of the seat for a moment. Getting angry instead of getting sad was her strong suit. She went back through everything in her head. Horatio leaving the scene early, him showing up at the hospital. Why would he be contacted first? He wasn't either of their "in case of emergency" contacts.. She felt her forehead scrunch. Why wouldn't he have called them to let them know.

"I would like to speak to Horatio Caine" Natalia said seriously as she leaned forward in her seat to where the two men were seated.

Without turning around one of them replied "you know that we can't allow any communication Ms. Boa Vista. Detective Caine was very clear in his instructions". Detective Caine gave instructions? Not Stetler? Not a higher up? This had to be something Horatio is doing off the books. Something else had to be happening. Natalia watched out the window trying to remember any big signs or buildings so she could get an idea of where she was going. She began to realize that they were only taking back roads. There was no point. Eventually they pulled up to a small house on what appeared to be a ranch. Natalia took a breath and sighed as she exited the vehicle with the assistance of one of the men whose name she didn't care to catch. Something was up and she wasn't interested in the minor details.

"You can follow me" one of them said. Natalia followed and shoved her hands deep into the pockets of her dress pants. She didn't know what was going on and she wasn't happy that something was being kept from her. She silently followed the men into the small home. She sat on a couch and pretended to listen to one of the men as he gave directions on when she could and couldn't leave, when to do certain things and the basic rules of being in armed protective custody. She'd heard it all before, hell, she'd even explained it to someone else before. Finally the man stopped talking and gestured for Natalia to follow him down the hallway to her room. As she was about to open the door she heard stirring in the room across the hall from her. She quickly grabbed her gun and held it at the door. In the same second the man who had guided her in held his gun to her. "Re-holster your weapon before I disarm you" he said firmly.

"Who else is here?" She said harshly as she kept her gun at the door. The man rolled his eyes as she holstered his gun. He put a gentle hand on her gun, lowering it from the door. Natalia turned at him with a raised eyebrow. He pushed open the door and turned to Natalia.

"I had orders to wait, but go ahead" he huffed. Natalia carefully stepped Into the room. She felt herself grow light headed at the image in front of her. Before she could even take a breath she was pulled back to reality in two simple words.

"Hey Nat!" Ryan called out with a crooked smile on his face. He laid in bed with an IV attached to his arm. A person that she assumed was a doctor stood by the bed writing something down in a chart. Natalia braved herself by grabbing the edge of the table that was in the room. "We have a few things to talk about I guess" Ryan said again with a stronger smile on his face. Natalia sat for a moment trying to collect her thoughts. She looked to the doctor for a moment, half hoping that he would say that all of this was a dream.

"I'll give you two some time, I'll be back in a little while to change your dressing Mr. Wolfe" the mad said with a tight smile as he left the room, shutting the door behind him. Natalia slowly approached the bed where Ryan was laid, still trying to put pieces together.

"I'm sorry? That sounds like a pretty good place to start. Yah know, sorry that you had to go through all of that, not sorry that I got shot. I didn't have a choice in that one" Ryan continued on with a smile. Natalia slowly felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. How? How could he be so calm and so easy going? She sat on the edge of his bed, following the IV with her eyes from his arm to the bag hanging above the bed.

"So Calleigh..?" Natalia started. Ryan nodded, confirming that she too was okay. Natalia felt and involuntary sigh leave her body. She felt him grab her hand lightly.

"I'm pretty okay too, just a few paper cuts here and there" he said, still in the highest of feelings. Natalia finally let out a chuckle at that one.

"I knew you would be" Natalia said back with a smile. Ryan watched her for a moment too long. Her swollen eyes still glimmered and her smile still made him warm. Nobody would ever know that though.

"I really am sorry though, honest. They told the two of us that it was the story they would have to play to make it look realistic. Neither of us wanted to agree but we didn't have a choice. Calleigh and I are no where near ready to return to work, and having targets on our backs was too dangerous. We had no choice, none of us did. We were just trying to protect one another the best we could" Ryan explained now that he finally had her attention. He almost had forgotten that he still had her hand in his. He moved to pull it away before Natalia put her other hand over his.

"I know that, I know that now" she said quietly. A light knock was heard on the door before the doctor entered the room again. Natalia quickly pulled her hand away and stood from the bed, as if she had been doing something wrong. Ryan resented the cold feeling he had in his hand after hers had left it.

"Dressing change! I'm also going to give you some more medication to deal with the pain, you'll feel a little sleepy. Now would be the best time to sleep. Whenever we get word that we can move you we can treat you at a hospital" the doctor rambled off as he began changing out the fluid flowing to the IV. Natalia nodded, knowing that he was referring to when Horatio had caught the men. Natalia watched as Ryan's eyes blinked slowly at the introduction to the pain medication.

"Guess I'll see you tomorrow" Natalia said with a smile aw she left the room. Ryan attempted to lift an arm to wave to her. He only made it about 4 inches before his arm dropped back down to the bed. He offered her a slanted smile instead to which Natalia smiled widely at. Poor guy. She shut the door behind her and looked back down the hallway. The two men from the car sitting by a coffee table in the front of the house. Natalia looked at the man who had walked her to the room to begin with.

"Sorry about all of ... That" Natalia said as she gestured to herself and her gun. The man nodded and smiled.

"Get some rest, detective" he said with a flat voice. Natalia smiled and opened the door to her room and sat on the edge of the bed. She kicked off her shoes and placed her gun and badge on the table. She didn't realize how tired she was until she laid her face against the pillow. She looked to the spare clothes resting at the foot of the bed and decided against it. She was far too tired. She laid on her side and quickly fell asleep, pushing the events of the day out of her head.

Calleigh woke to the sound of men's laughter. She rubbed her forehead and sat up in bed, wincing slightly at the pain in her shoulder from where the bullet had passed through. She kicked her legs over the side of the bed and walked across the room to a mirror and pulled her hair back into a sleek ponytail. She changed into the spare clothes that she had been offered when she arrived. A pair of leggings and a semi fitted t shirt from her locker at work. It was what she wore when she went on runs. She straightened out her shirt and opened the door to the room, following the voices.

There in the living room sat Eric and the two other men, all with coffee in hand. The three men turned and looked to Calleigh as she opened her door. One smiled and held up an extra cup of coffee that had been sitting on the table. "No vanilla creamer here but we got milk and sugar" he said with a smile. Calleigh stared him down for a moment, she knew he looked familiar. How did he know she drank her coffee with vanilla creamer?

"Jordan?" She asked quietly. The man stood up and walked to Calleigh with a large grin across his face.

"About time you noticed!" He said as he hugged her and laughed. Calleigh hugged him back laughing herself.

"How on Earth did you end up here?" She asked surprised.

"Well some of us were happy with our jobs and didn't move on to be crime scene investigators" Jordan nagged with a grin. He looked at the gauze pad that was visible through her shirt and frowned. "Sorta glad I didn't though, seeing where it led you" he said as he moved back to his seat and picked up a prescription bottle, tossing it to Calleigh as she rolled her eyes.

"So who is going to explain how you guys know each other?" The other man asked. Turns out his name was Dave. Eric sat back in his seat, already having a general idea of where and how they knew each other. He was honestly just happy to see Calleigh happy, to see her at all. Calleigh laughed and looked over to Jordan.

"Which version do you want to tell?" She asked with a grin on her face. Jordan leaned back in his chair, rubbing his jaw.

"Since you're injured, I'll let you tell it" he said with a laugh. Calleigh rolled her eyes again.

"Jordan and I worked together, undercover in 2008. We were working a case against this couple in Suburbia. All was going well until Jordan decided to pick a fight with the wife, not knowing that she was physically trained in martial arts. Long story short, Jordan got manhandled by a lady and I had to break it up and handle it myself." Calleigh finished with a wide grin across her face, laughing as she told the story. Dave crouched over in his seat, laughing hysterically at the image in his head.

"To be fair, I was feeling pretty sick that day" Jordan quickly intervened. Eric laughed along as well, he knew damn well Calleigh could handle her own. He almost felt a sense of jealousy grow in him, that someone had stories involving Calleigh that he didn't share. That someone got to spend more time with her than he did. He quickly brushed the feeling away, knowing it was irrational.

The pleasant laughing was quickly interrupted when both Dave and Jordan's phones began to ring. Dave looked to Jordan.

"I'll take it" Dave said as he exited the house. The light hearted feeling in the room left with him. Calleigh shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Eric reached out and squeezed her hand. She looked up to him.

"Everything will be fine" he said under his breath. Calleigh nodded and squeezed his hand back, watching Dave walk on the porch and answer his phone through the window. Jordan continued to swipe through his phone and then stood.

"If you guys could follow me please" he said flatly as he began walking to the back of the house. Calleigh stood quickly as Dave re-entered the house. Eric and Calleigh followed Jordan as he unlocked a normal seeming drawer and pulled out Calleigh's gun and badge, handing it to her as he shut it and continued heading to the back exit.

"I'm entering the address into the GPS now" Dave said as he followed them out of the back of the house. Calleigh fastened her badge to her hip and holstered her weapon as best as she could to her elastic banded pants without question. The four loaded into one car and as soon as then began moving Jordan began to speak.

"We have a bit of a complicated situation on or hands" he started. He roughly turned a corner and continued. "This operation is being run by Horatio specifically, off the books. We are supporting it because we owe a favor and because we know his intentions are true. The problem now is that he needs backup. He can't call for that without Stetler asking where or why his team didn't show up. Dave and I can't leave the two of you unattended to go aid, so you're coming with" Jordan further explained as he pulled onto a paved road and continued off at irrational speeds. Horatio must be important to him, at least the same amount that he is to the team.

Calleigh nodded along to the information she was being handed. This was more than a team, this was family. Dave explained that they didn't know exactly what they were pulling up on, but that Tripp and Horatio were in contact with "Geno" and Lenny. That the two suspects had strong fire power and that they didn't know how much longer they could hold their own ground. Eric felt his hands begin to sweat. He didn't like how it sounded. Shortly afterwards they pulled onto an abandoned road that had fresh tire treads. They could hear gun fire in the background clear as day. Calleigh removed the safety from her gun at the same time as Eric.

"To be clear, the two of you are not to leave the car as you are in protective custody and you are to stay safe" Jordan yelled as the sound of gravel flying under the tired made hearing more difficult.

"Than why arm us?" Eric shouted back. Jordan looked at Eric in the rear view mirror.

"Because I know damn well that neither of you are going to listen to that order" he replied. Calleigh nodded at him in response. She truly appreciated his understanding. Just as soon as she looked forward she could see the Hummer with its lights still flashing. Horatio and Tripp behind either door taking cover. Jordan whipped the wheel to the left turning the car sideways, close by the Hummer, causing a cloud of dust to form in front of them. All four agents exited the car, opening the doors to use as a shield. Eric quickly made his way to the other side of the Hummer where Horatio was standing. Horatio looked up for a moment and gave a small smile at the man standing next to him. How had he known that somehow, Eric would end up there with him? Eric handed a fresh magazine to his boss that Dave had handed him when they left the house. Horatio changed his out and re centered his aim on the two men in front of them.

Horatio and Tripp had tracked them down to this abandoned private airport. The two men had been attempting to flee the US illegally and with a private jet. Horatio and Tripp showing up scared off the pilot, which left Lenny and Geno there without a getaway other than their car, which was no badly destroyed with bullet holes, making it easy to spot out on a road. Dave ran up to hand Tripp another magazine and to aid in backup as Jordan joined Calleigh on her side of the car and began to fire. 6 vs. 2.

After what seemed like hours of shooting Calleigh hit Geno in the chest, sending him to the ground. "Nice shot" Jordan complimented as he wiped sweat off his forehead. Calleigh smirked at the comment. She knew she was a nice shot, about time she got to redeem her honor. Lenny without thinking went to run to Geno's aid, leaving him without protection. Horatio and Eric but shot simultaneously, leaving Lenny with three bullet wounds, likely killing him. Horatio approached slowly with Eric. Eric bent down to check for a pulse on the large man while Horatio held his gun and went around the side to find Geno lying on his back, clutching his chest as blood poured out. Horatio re-holstered his gun, knowing that the man wasn't going to make it. He leaned down by his face.

"How did you know Raymond?" Horatio asked flatly. Geno smiled, blood staining his teeth.

"We just wanted the money, getting to meet you was just an added bonus, Caine" Geno said as he coughed.

"How did you know him?!" Horatio said again, now with more force. Grabbing as Geno's collar as he did so. The smile on Geno's face faded as did the life in his eyes. As he went the rest of the men and Calleigh approached.

"Horatio?" Calleigh said carefully as she squatted next to her boss. She knew that anything involving Raymond was hard for him. She had been there through all of it, unlike the rest of them. Horatio looked up from Geno's body and to Calleigh.

"We're good now" he said simply as he stood, offering his hand to her as he did so. Calleigh gladly took it, her shoulder pain only feeling worse and worse. Horatio looked around him at the scene. Casings everywhere, bullet holes in all three vehicles, but most importantly, half of his team stood with him perfectly unharmed. He smiled for a moment. "Jordan, if you could call Justin and let him know that my other two agents can be released that would be great. Calleigh, I'd like you back at the hospital to be looked over again, Eric go with her to make sure she actually stays, and Dave, thank everyone for their hard work. I owe you both one" he finished as he smiled to Jordan and Dave. The two men waved to him and walked back to their car. Calleigh and Eric remained with their feet firmly planted on the ground, not following orders. Tripp looked at the two and then back to Horatio and let out a chuckle.

"You really thought they'd go?" He asked the redhead with a laugh. Horatio smiled down at ground before he looked back up at the three people in front of him.

"No, I guess not" he said firmly as he looked at them all. He couldn't have picked a better team if he tried. "How about we meet Natalia and Ryan at Miami General instead?" He finished. Calleigh nodded and turned on a heel back to the cars where they waited for a new crew to work the scene as well as someone to drive them to the hospital since their cars were now evidence.

 **OKAY FRIENDS! Sorry again for the millionth time for the long wait! I'm not sure if I should continue this story or if I should end it here and then make a sequel? I've never written a sequel to one of my stories before so I'm kind of interested in doing it! Let me know what you guys think!**


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